Former EWOS exec sentenced to four years in jail

A Norwegian district court has sentenced the former exec at EWOS to four years in prison.

A 63-year-old has been convicted of five cases of corruption during the period 2003-2015 after receiving EUR 256 thousand from various suppliers, Økokrim Norway’s white-collar crimes unit, reported in a press release.

EWOS or EWOS Group, and was one of the world’s largest suppliers of feed and nutrition for farmed fish before it was taken over owned by US giant, Cargill.

The judgment states that the man has “systematically and systematically abused his position as a central employee” to “acquire large private benefits from EWOS’s suppliers and contractors” for many years. A central district court in central Norway stated that “corruption represents a highly harmful action” and that all-preventive considerations therefore imply “a strict penal level in such matters”.

In the same trial, a 56-year-old and a 58-year-old were convicted of bribery of NOK 1.5 million (EUR 153.5 thousand) and NOK 850,000 (EUR 87 thousand) respectively. The 56 year old man is sentenced to imprisonment for three and a half years, had a gain of EUR 75 thousand that is now been taken back by the authorities. The 58-year-old is sentenced to two years in prison for two cases of corruption. The two men have to pay costs of 50,000 kroner (EUR 5.1 thousand) each.

The verdict will be appealed.

In September 2016, one person was sentenced to 11 months in prison for corruption in a related plea bargain case. That person was alleged to have transferred NOK 691,109 (EUR 70.7 thousand) to a former EWOS executive. The judge’s ruling held that the man chose to pay the former exec’s bills because he was afraid of losing EWOS’s business.